Plans approved for homes in suburb north of Bristol with ‘no harmful increase in traffic’

The development forms part of the giant new neighbourhood east of Harry Stoke. Councillors on a strategic sites delivery committee at South Gloucestershire Council voted to approve the plans on Thursday, January 9. Details such as layout of the homes still need to be approved.

Some local residents living nearby objected to the development, citing concerns about the extra traffic coming onto the narrow Hambrook Lane. However none were at the committee to speak to their objections. According to a planning consultant, the extra number of cars will be minimal.

Stuart Rackham, a planning agent representing the developers, said: “The proposed access is further south on Hambrook Lane than the existing field gate, further away from the Curtis Lane junction and existing properties that face onto Hambrook Lane. Additional movements onto Hambrook Lane would be equivalent to one additional vehicle every eight and a half minutes.

“This is not considered to be significant or a harmful increase in the number of movements on Hambrook Lane. The proposal also delivers a two-metre wide access path on Hambrook Lane, which will provide an improved link for the existing houses and residents in Stoke Gifford to the Metrobus stops on the new Stoke Gifford relief road.”

The existing gate into the field will be closed off. A three-metre wide path will also be built into the adjacent housing development, to the south-west of the site. Next to the site is a much larger housing development of 144 new homes, the first phase of the South of the Railway development of a gigantic 1,290 homes.